Polar bear spotted in Iceland for first time in 8 years, shot dead by police

A polar bear that rarely made any appearances outside a cottage in a remote Icelandic village was shot dead by police after it was deemed a threat to local residents. The bear was killed on September 19 in northwestern Iceland after consultation with the Environment Agency, which decided against relocating the animal

“It’s not something we like to do,” Westfjords police chief Helgi Jensson told AP, adding that the bear was very close to the summer cottage. “There was an old woman there.” The woman, who was alone at the time, locked herself upstairs in fear as the bear rummaged through her garbage. She contacted her daughter in Reykjavik for help via satellite link.

“She stayed there,” Jensson said, adding that other summer residents had already left the area. “She knew the danger.”

Polar bears are not native to Iceland, but sometimes come ashore from Greenland on ice floes.

The bear shot on September 19 was the first bear sighted in Iceland since 2016, and only 600 such sightings have been recorded since the ninth century. The bear, estimated to weigh between 150 and 200 kilograms, will be taken to the Icelandic Institute of Natural History for further examination, the report said. Scientists plan to examine the bear for parasites and infections, assess the condition of its organs and body fat percentage, and potentially preserve its fur and skull for the institute’s collection.

According to the AP, although polar bears are a protected species in the country, authorities can take strict action if they pose a threat to people or livestock.

While polar bear attacks on humans are extremely rare, a 2017 study published in the Wildlife Society Bulletin found that the loss of sea ice due to climate change has led to more hungry bears coming ashore, increasing the risk of encounters with humans. The study found that between 1870 and 2014, there were 73 recorded attacks by wild polar bears in the five states of the polar bear range — Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia and the United States — resulting in 20 deaths and 63 injuries to humans.